Morning Buzz: Monday 2.3.14

Mayor Eric Garcetti, UTLA president Warren Fletcher and Board of Supes candidate Bobby Shriver were among the political figures to take part in an education discussion during halftime of the annual Super Bowl watch party at the Valley home of Dr. Gary Gitnick. DN

City officials are once again faced with the tough political decision on whether to require retrofitting of Los Angeles buildings that may be earthquake safety hazards. DN

LAX officials on Monday are expected to approve a $800,000 contract to improve pedestrian signage in the airport’s center terminal area. “Over the years, the signs outside the terminals have become inconsistent in style, messaging and location,” the airport staff wrote to the Board of Airport Commissioners. Daily Breeze

Media and books

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, a close friend of Mia Farrow, let her daughter Dylan Farrow use his NYT blog to write an "open letter" accusing her father, Woody Allen, of sexually abusing her as a seven-year-old. It's an old charge but apparently the first time Dylan has written about it. Allen's spokeswoman said he called the item "untrue and disgraceful.” NYT On the Ground, Roger Friedman, AP

"Captain Phillips” and “Her” were the best adapted and original screenplays of the year, according to the Writers Guild of America, which gave out its prizes in simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles on Saturday. "Stories We Tell,” Sarah Polley’s examination of her own family, won in the documentary category. In TV, “Breaking Bad,” “30 Rock,” “The Simpsons,” “House of Cards” and “The Colbert Report” were also winners. NYT

Amy Wallace on the Tom Sherak she knew — and she attended the Hollywood executive's chemotherapy sessions. Los Angeles Magazine

Michael Hiltzik argues that the emerging media environment delivers less of the important news that people need: "The information ecosystem today is a vast edifice of commentary built upon an ever smaller foundation of hard news." LAT column

Hiltzik also argues that the St. Louis Rams' purchase of 60 acres in Inglewood is another NFL trick. LAT column

Chasing Their Star on YouTube: Olga Kay, 31, of Encino is part of an emerging group of entertainers who are trying to make a living by producing content for YouTube. NYT

Mary Miller’s first novel, “The Last Days of California,” never quite makes it to California and is "a story about beginnings, not endings." NYT review

Now she tells us: J.K. Rowling says she regrets not pairing her Hermione character with Harry Potter himself. Variety

The backstory of one of the 34 couples to get married on TV at last week's Grammy's, Adam Gropman and Robyn Monks. NYT Weddings

Longtime San Diego journalist Neil Morgan, a co-founder of Voice of San Diego, died at age 89. "The most respected journalist in the city he called a 'stumblebum with character'...Neil Morgan tried to figure out what it meant to be a Westerner, a Californian, a San Diegan." Voice of San Diego story, timeline

Michael Seiler, a former staff writer for the old Los Angeles Times View section and a Metro desk reporter before moving to Arizona, died on January 30 in Mesa, AZ at age 65. Via email.

Courts and cops

New Los Angeles County Sheriff John Scott named Capt. Mike Parker to be his spokesman as well as top PIO for the department. Twitter

Culver City officials say the ice skating rink there operated on a 1960s variance and that any other use will require a zoning change or another variance. Unclear if the threat of delay and a potentially messy council fight affects the Culver City Ice Arena, which lost its lease and was due to close for good Sunday. CC Observer

USC Marshall School of Business professor Robert Bridges talks about his home perched mysteriously above a bend in Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades. NYT

Fewer Manhattan women are waxing away their pubic hair. Or are they? NYT